Chapter 16

Things had been weird since Halloween. I probably shouldn't have kissed him. As good as the kiss was, it not only lit me on fire, but I swear I felt shaky when he finally pulled away. And I hadn't been able to think of anything but the feel of his rough palm cupping my cheek and the press of his lips to mine.

That wasn't the only issue, though. It felt like he was avoiding my house. And with the interview today, that was unfortunate timing. Selling the idea to these people that we were a happily married couple was going to be a lot harder since I hadn't seen him in almost forty-eight hours.

How did I even get myself into this?

Kai and Diesel ran through the house and up the stairs. I shook my head. Shockingly, Kai hadn't tried keeping the dog here at night yet, but with the way the two of them were inseparable, I knew it was coming soon.

A knock echoed across the family room, and I spun to the front door just as Finn stepped inside.

"I'm assuming my dog's here?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Upstairs."

He shifted his weight and glanced around. "I'm early."

"That's okay." Damn, this was awkward. That was sucky, because things with Finn hadn't ever been awkward. Even when we got married.

He shifted his weight again and sighed. "Probably can't be this awkward when they get here."

"Yeah, we probably shouldn't." Although I didn't know how to fix that either.

He leaned forward and quickly brushed his lips against mine. Just a quick peck, but my heart raced in my chest as he hovered close enough, I could feel his breath on my face.

"What's that for?" I whispered.

"Hoping to reverse the problem." He shot me a smirk, standing up straight and moving out of my space. It was annoying how disappointed I was by the distance he left.

I chuckled. "Didn't realize you could be funny."

"I'm not usually the grump."

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow, ready to call his bluff.

"Yeah. My family would say I'm the one who never takes anything seriously and my brother's the grumpy one."

"He always seems so happy."

"I'm pretty sure he shot you daggers through most of the wedding."

"Oh? I thought he was looking at you."

He laughed and shook his head. I sucked in a breath. The man was stunning when he smiled. The more time I spent with him, the harder it was to avoid the truth of how gorgeous he was.

But suddenly the smile faded, and his eyes darkened to a deep chocolate brown. He reached forward and his fingers brushed along my waist before he pulled me forward into his hard body. This time, he didn't seem awkward at all as he leaned in and molded his lips to mine. Although his lips were warm and soft, the bite of his stubble sent a flood of sensations through my body.

A knock had us pulling apart and blinking at each other.

"Sorry, are we interrupting the honeymoon?" Paige asked from the other side of the screen door.

"No, no." I cleared my throat and stepped away from Finn. "Come on in." I waved to her and a tall man behind her inside.

"This will be pretty quick," Paige said as we all took seats in the living room.

I nodded, trying hard to pay attention to what she was saying, but all I could think about was the press of Finn's lips against mine. The chemistry that cracked between us anytime we were together. That was so much more real than our fake marriage.

"This is Kevin, my supervisor," she said before continuing. "We've already gone through everything. Mr. Lowery's background check came back good, and with your families and you both knowing each other for a long time, we don't see any issues."

"Okay."

"You didn't tell us your brother is Declan Lowery," Kevin directed at Finn.

Finn cocked his head.

"Stop fanning over his brother," Paige said as she rolled her eyes.

Finn's eyes narrowed. "Is that why it's smooth sailing now? Because of my brother?" Every time his brother came up, tension radiated through Finn's body, and I longed to close the distance between us and grasp him palm.

"We do reference checks. I called him and he said he was Declan Lowery. I made a joke about the funny coincidence, and it was like crickets on the line." Kevin rocked in his chair almost uncomfortably. "Very awkward when I realized he was the Declan Lowery."

Finn huffed and rolled his eyes.

I gave his side a playful nudge. "Don't give your brother a hard time. Remember, he's supposed to be the grumpy one. Not you."

He chuckled and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Yeah, ok babe. Whatever you say."

Why did babe leaving his lips send butterflies careening around my stomach?

"We'll be back in a couple of weeks to check on everything, but we don't think there will be any issues. He's free to move in."

"Can we schedule the next visit now or will you mail us a letter?" Finn asked, his fingers distracting me as he toyed with the end of my ponytail.

Paige leaned toward us, watching Finn's reaction carefully as she said, "This will be a surprise check."

His eyes widened as he turned to look at me. I could read the how do we plan for that written all over his face.

"That's not a problem, is it?" Paige glanced between the two of us her lips pulling down as her eyes narrowed.

"No, of course not." Finn shook his head, but through the rest of the pleasantries and paperwork, I could see his brain spinning.

Once I shut the door and watched them climb into their vehicle, I turned to Finn.

"I have to move in, don't I?" He swallowed and ran a hand over his face.

I rung my hands together in front of me. He didn't seem to love that idea. And I couldn't blame him—we were a lot. But the idea of him here with us, sharing a space—sharing a bed, made my body heat.

I shook that off and focused on the practical. "We don't know when they will show up, so ideally, it should look like you live here."

He nodded. "But where am I moving into?" He glanced around and I could see him trying to search for an empty room.

"To my bedroom." The hesitancy was so clear in my voice, but his eyes met mine. Heat crackled between us like a current we could reach out and touch.

"This might be the worst idea yet," he mumbled, blinking at me several times.

I didn't know whether to agree with him or be insulted. But I knew it was going to be very hard to keep my hands to myself, and from the way I watched his pupils dilate, the feeling might be mutual.